BOB COLGAN: Why no pressure for alcohol control?

The hype over gun control has filled the media the past few months with debates argued strongly from both sides. Anytime there is a shooting there is an argument for gun control and a counter argument against it. Sounds reasonable? Why is it then that anytime there is an alcohol-related death involving a vehicle, we hear no argument for alcohol control?

According to the MADD website, someone is injured in a drunken driving accident almost every 90 seconds.

In 2011, one person died every 53 minutes from a drunken driving accident. One in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related accident in their lifetime. Drunken driving costs the United States $132 billion a year.

So my question is simple: What is anyone doing about alcohol control? Why is it that a judge who sentenced a repeat DUI offender (15 times arrested) to a 15-year plus sentence had it overturned by a court that said it was too harsh a punishment?

How about when a person pulls into a drinking establishment with his or her weapon (their vehicle) and then goes in and takes a drink (their ammunition)? Then they take another drink (more ammunition), and another and maybe another, Then they go back out and get into their weapon and take off down the highway and wreak havoc on themselves or worse, maybe your loved one.

We see alcohol glorified in TV commercials every day. We don’t see gun manufacturers showing people shooting and blasting things to promote their product.

For the responsible person, a gun is no more dangerous to society than alcohol is when handled responsibly. Problem is we have a society that glorifies a legal drug that impairs a person’s ability to make responsible decisions. Therein lies a real problem.

Ever consider how much your health insurance could drop if insurance companies didn’t have to pay out for a liver transplant because someone drank too much for too long?

How much would your automotive insurance drop if they didn’t have to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement to the sole survivor of a drunken driving accident? We all suffer when drunks drive.

Lawmakers need to take a good hard look at the laws surrounding alcohol advertising, as well as at the punishment of alcohol-related accidents.

The statistics should make you mad. If you are one of those who drive drunk, you should be embarrassed.

BEAVER (AP) — A man has been convicted of attempted murder in a shooting that wounded a western Pennsylvania police officer last year.The Beaver County Times said jurors in Beaver County also convicted Damontae Williams, 20, of Aliquippa, on Wednesday of aggravated assault, assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment, robbery and other counts. A judge later convicted him of a firearms